Beauty and a Beast: New Lancia Stratos runs 0-62 in 3.3 seconds

In a perfect world, the fastest cars would be the best looking ones. And to some extent, that's often the case. But not always. For instance the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous automotive creations ever devised, but by most accounts, its performance fails to live up to its styling. Conversely, cars like the Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911 GT2 RS are some of the most devastatingly fast vehicles ever to grace tarmac, but not everyone's enamored of their sheetmetal.

The New Stratos is here to suggest that you may be able to have your cake and eat it to, as full technical specifications and performance stats have been released on the one-off retro creation. The aluminum chassis from the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is a good starting point, giving the New Stratos a compact, lightweight frame, a 44/56 front/rear weight distribution ratio and a 4.3-liter V8 tuned from the 508 horsepower delivered in the Scud to 540 in the nuovoLancia.

That's enough to rocket the coachbuilt custom from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.3 seconds, past 200 km/h (124 mph) in 9.7 and on to a top speed of 170 mph. (That last figure may not be the most impressive, but the original Stratos was never geared for top-speed runs, but for rapid acceleration and nimble handling, and its successor appears to have followed the same route.)

Not ready to cry "uncle" just yet? The full specifications – from gearbox to dimensions – can be found after the jump, so click on to feast your eyes.

The New Stratos, like the racing version of its predecessor, has been extensively geared – down to every last detail – towards lightweight design and performance. Not surprisingly, the specification sheet was therefore extremely ambitious in this regard as well.

The low vehicle weight, the excellent balance and the precision chassis components made possible by the rigid body, were intended not only to provide an exhilarating driving experience, but to provide measurable results in the form of objective data.

As work on the New Stratos continued virtually without pause up until the presentation in Le Castellet, and weather conditions offered no opportunity for performance test runs, these will have be carried out at the next available opportunity.

We expect a power-to-weight ratio below 2.3 kg/hp with an acceleration time from 0-100 km/h of 3.3 seconds and from 0-200 km/h of 9.7 seconds. We expect top marks for braking performance and a benchmark position in the 18- and 36-meter slalom and similar handling tests.

After introducing the new rear axle ratio (crown wheel and pinion 9/45), the top speed will be reduced to 274 km/h, in order to achieve even better acceleration values.

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